Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

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

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

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

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

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

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

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

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

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.