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

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

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

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

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

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.