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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

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

The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

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

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "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 with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.