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

England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

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

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.