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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, after the opener 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

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

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.