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

England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

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

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

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

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.