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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years 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 lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

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

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.

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

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.