Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

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

The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"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 Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

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

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.

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

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.

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

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.