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

The English opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after 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 more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

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

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.