Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.