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

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

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

However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"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 a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.

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

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"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 discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.