Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

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

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.