Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the 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 message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any notion Pope 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," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.