Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

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

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be 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 innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.