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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, following Crawley scored 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 a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

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

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

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

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

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

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.