Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
