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

The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players 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 Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.