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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

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

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

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

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.