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

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

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

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

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

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.