Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several 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 third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
