Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

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

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

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

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

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

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was 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.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.