Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.

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

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

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

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

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

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "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 good year if I'm honest."

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