Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is 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'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
