The Ashes: Zak Crawley unaware of Ben Stokes’ ‘weak men’ comment

Opener Zak Crawley said he was unaware of comments made by Ben Stokes after the England captain said the dressing room was “no place for weak men”.

Stokes made the statement in several interviews following England’s defeat in the second Ashes Test against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England will be beaten to lose the series at the first opportunity, Stokes said his message was to let his players “get around it”.

“I did all the talking I had to do in the last two days,” the all-rounder said.

But Crawley said after scoring 85 on the fourth day of the third test in Adelaide: “I didn’t see that.

“I didn’t see it and I wasn’t really paying attention. We take everything that’s said in the media with a grain of salt.”

Stokes made the “underdog” comment after England’s 2-0 defeat in Brisbane.

The England team then went on holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Ahead of this game in Adelaide, Stokes said his team had “raw” talks. The captain also asked his players to “show some dog” in the fight to stay in the series.

But Kent’s Crawley said the messages from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum were consistent with their previous three years in charge.

“He was very positive as always,” Crawley said. “[It’s] I’m just trying to be optimistic, we play our own way, with a lot of freedom. “I felt like we could do something special in this game.”