Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

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

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

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

Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

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

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

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

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven 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 at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

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