Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

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

A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

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

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.