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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

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

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

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

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

However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.