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

England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

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