Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming 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 in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

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

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

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

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.