Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.