Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
