Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.

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

But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England 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.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win 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 tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.