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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

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

This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

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

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning 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 played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.