Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

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

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

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

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

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

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.