Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.