Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth 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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
