Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

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

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

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

A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

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

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

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.

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

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

However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "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 played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.