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

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

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, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

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

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