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 regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are 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 difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

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

However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.