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

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.