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

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

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

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"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

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

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

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

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

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.