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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won 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 now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.