Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

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

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

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

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

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

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

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

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

But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.