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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

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

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

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

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.