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

England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.

Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

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

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope 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," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.