Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

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

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia 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 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

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

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

Only one 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 being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.