Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

But, after Crawley made 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 press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across 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 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.