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

The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

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

However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.