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

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.

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

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

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

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

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

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

Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.