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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

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

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"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 issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

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

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

However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning 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 productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.