Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with 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 defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.