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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

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

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.