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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"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 "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears 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, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.