Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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

The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.