Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

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

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he said 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 messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

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

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

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

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

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

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.