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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as 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 questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

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

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.