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

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

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

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

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