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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

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

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

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

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

But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.