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

The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

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

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

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

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.