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

England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

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

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

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard 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 the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

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

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.