Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

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

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

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

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

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

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.