Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

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

This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

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

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

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