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

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"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 some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "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 in the camp," Crawley concluded.