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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – 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 originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.