Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia 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 eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
