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

The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

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

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.