Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

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

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.