Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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 press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's 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 Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said 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," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.