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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

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

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.