Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

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

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.