Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"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 were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
