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

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

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

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

But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.