Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, following Crawley scored 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

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

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

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

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

However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.