Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas 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 the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

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

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.