Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

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

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 battle to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia 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 significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know 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. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.