Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

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

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although 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 on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.