Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

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

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.