Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

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

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

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

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

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.