🔗 Share this article Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments The English opener Zak 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 delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously. In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group. "I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader. But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks." "I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued. Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind. The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests. Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle. Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge. "It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game." The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon. The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435. This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played. A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat. The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively. The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century. "It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point." "There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added. "It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality." Pope's Place Under Scrutiny While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th. Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia. In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62. A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average. However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team." "We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest." "He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
The English opener Zak 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 delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously. In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group. "I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader. But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks." "I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued. Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind. The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests. Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle. Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge. "It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game." The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon. The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435. This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played. A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat. The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively. The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century. "It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point." "There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added. "It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality." Pope's Place Under Scrutiny While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th. Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia. In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62. A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average. However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team." "We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest." "He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.