Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
