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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.

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

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.