Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

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

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.

A loss will extend 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 just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.