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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts 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 facing elimination at this point."

"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 very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.