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

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

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

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

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

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.