Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley scored 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

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

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

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