Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

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

The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

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

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"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 front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot 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 against Australia.

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

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.