Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

However, following the opener made 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 press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

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

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning 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 productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.