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

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.

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

However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out 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 issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope 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 he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.