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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

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

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

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

However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.