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

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

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

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

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.