Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.