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

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.

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

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.

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

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

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

Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

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

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

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

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.