Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.

But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he 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.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.