Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 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. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
