Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.