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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

However, after the opener scored 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

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

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.