Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

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

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

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

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.