Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.