Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations 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 Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan 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 total of 435.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.