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

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.

A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.