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

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

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

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

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

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

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.