Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

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

Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.