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

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

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

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

But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

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

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

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.