Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.

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

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

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

This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.