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

England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"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 team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

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

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.