Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets 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 Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches 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. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
