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

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

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

Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," 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 On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," 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 significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.