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

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes 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," remarked the England leader.

But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.