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

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley 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," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

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

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

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

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.