Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
