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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

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

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.

But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

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

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

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

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.