Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.