Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards 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 players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
