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

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

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

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

This series 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 sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"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 like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

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

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.