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

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth 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 everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

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

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.