Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

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

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We 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 England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

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

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

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

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

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

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

But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.