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

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

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require 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 Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

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

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

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

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.