🔗 Share this article Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude". The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad. "I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader. However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks." "I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added. Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down. The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches. Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series. Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge. "The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test." The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon. The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs. Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests. Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat. This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each. Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era. "It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now." "There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added. "The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality." Pope's Position Under Scrutiny Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia. Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62. A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average. However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest." "He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude". The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad. "I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader. However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks." "I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added. Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down. The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches. Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series. Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge. "The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test." The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon. The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs. Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests. Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat. This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each. Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era. "It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now." "There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added. "The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality." Pope's Position Under Scrutiny Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia. Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62. A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average. However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest." "He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.