Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.