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

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

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

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.

This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

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

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted 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 some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.