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

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.

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

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty 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 order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.