Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 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. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. 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
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.