Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable 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."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, 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 knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty 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 returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
