Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated 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.

However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

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

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.