Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten 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, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after 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 away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
