Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

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

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.