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

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

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

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.