Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

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

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

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

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

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

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable 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 Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

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

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.