🔗 Share this article Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men". Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group. "I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader. But, after Crawley scored 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added. Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down. The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests. Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle. Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership. "The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of 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 Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435. Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests. A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat. This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each. Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era. "This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point." "There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added. "It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why." Pope's Place In Question Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia. Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62. Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average. However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank." "He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men". Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously. Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group. "I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader. But, after Crawley scored 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added. Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down. The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests. Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle. Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership. "The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of 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 Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435. Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests. A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat. This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each. Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era. "This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point." "There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added. "It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why." Pope's Place In Question Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day. Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia. Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62. Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average. However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team." "The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank." "He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.