Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

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

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

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

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

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

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

But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.