Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.