Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

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

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

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

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.