Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

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

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.