Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome 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," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
