Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.