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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

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

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

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

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

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

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

However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.