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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.