Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.