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

England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

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

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

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

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.