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

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

However, following 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

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

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

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty 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, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

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

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