Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

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

However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted 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.

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

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.