Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

But, after 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

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

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.