Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

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

Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

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

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

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.