Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks
England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.