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

The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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 a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

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

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

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

A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.