Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians 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" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to 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 third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
