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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

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

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"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 they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

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

"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.