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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

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

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

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

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.