Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

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

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

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