Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks
England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the 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 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.