Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

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

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

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

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.