Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

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

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

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

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

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

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

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

However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know 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. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.