🔗 Share this article Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude". Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group. "I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes. However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 some skepticism," Crawley continued. Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down. The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests. Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series. Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge. "It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test." Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon. The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs. This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played. A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat. The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively. The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century. "This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now." "There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added. "The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why." Pope's Place In Question While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy. In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62. A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average. But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest." "He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude". Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group. "I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes. However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 some skepticism," Crawley continued. Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down. The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests. Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series. Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge. "It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test." Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon. The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs. This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played. A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat. The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively. The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century. "This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now." "There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added. "The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why." Pope's Place In Question While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy. In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62. A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average. But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest." "He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.