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

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

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

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

Across 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 six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.