Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 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 a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

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

The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

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

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.