Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

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

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

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.