Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

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

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, 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 Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances 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 will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty 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 the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.