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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

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

Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left 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 Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches 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 fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

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

Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"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 externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.