Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

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

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

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted 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'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.