Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.