Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

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

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

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

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

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

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

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.