Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

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

"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," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead 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 just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," 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 front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.