Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.