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

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.

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

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome 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 now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

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

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.