Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

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

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

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

However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.