Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.