Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

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

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

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

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

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

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.