Ashes 2025: England batter Zak Crawley says Australia 'were the favourites' in defence of series disaster

England batter Zak Crawley says it's too soon to sift through the ashes of a wrecked Australian tour.

"Obviously very disappointing," Crawley told reporters on Saturday as the tourists digest the near certainty of going 3-0 down against Australia.

"We came here to win the Ashes and, yeah, obviously we're staring down the barrel now.

"But there will still be plenty to play for."

Just not the coveted urn.

England enters today's final day of the third Test in Adelaide needing a miracle: 228 more runs to win, four wickets in hand.

After torching England by eight-wicket margins in the opening two Tests, the Australians are on the cusp of retaining the Ashes for a fifth consecutive series — in just 11 days of cricket.

"They're a very, very good side," Crawley said.

"It was always going to be tough coming up here against them.

"And they were the favourites going into it and they have proven why — they have played very, very well and made it very hard for us.

"Obviously we have been slightly short of our best. But a lot of credit has to go to them, they have not allowed us to be our best really.

"They have bowled very well and haven't given us a lot … it's hard to play that way that we have in the past, perhaps — and to their credit for that.

"They have set good fields and it is just an attritional style of cricket over here, it's not easy to score quickly."

Crawley, who made 85 on the fourth day of play, accepted that explanation sounded simplistic.

But he didn't accept criticism of some underperforming teammates.

His opening partner, Ben Duckett, can't appear to leave the ball, caught in slips again — he has 97 runs at 16.16 this series.

The world's number one-ranked batsman Joe Root (219 at 43.80) and captain Ben Stokes (165 at 27.50) fumed after Saturday's failures — 39 and five respectively.

Vice-captain Harry Brook (173 at 28.83) went to water again, bowled attempting a bizarre reverse sweep.

And first-drop Ollie Pope (125 at 20.83) faces excommunication from the team but Crawley bristled at the criticism heaped on his mate.

For comparison, Australian fast bowler and number eight batter Mitchell Starc has 150 runs at an average of 50.

"That is just cricket to be honest," Crawley said of the lean returns from Pope, who averages 16 from 12 Test innings in Australia.

"I have had lots of tough times, so has everyone in that change room, so has everyone who has ever played cricket.

"I feel like Popey gets a hard time sometimes, I'm trying to work out why.

"He has played really well in the last year, he has got big hundreds when we needed him to against tough opposition.

"Yeah, he's had a couple of quiet games. But I think he's an unbelievably good player and he plays a really hard role.

"Obviously he's wanting more for himself than he has got, but you can't underestimate some of the good knocks he has played."

Crawley also all but admitted defeat despite the four wickets in hand in today.

"The last two (Tests) — we haven't won a Test here in a while so it's a chance to win those two Tests," he said.

"If we can get it back to 3-2, suddenly it's a pretty good series. We were this close."

It was a comment that didn't sit well with ABC Sport's Jason Gillespie and Darren Lehmann.

"I just found the words a bit staggering. You're gonna be 3-0 down, 'but if we win the last two Tests it's 3-2 and that's a pretty good tour'," Gillespie said.

"No, I'm sorry. You lost the Ashes. That's just nonsense talk."

Lehmann agreed that it sounded like Crawley had almost given up on the Adelaide Test.

"It was surprising," Lehmann said.

"Yes it's going to be tough work. I'm not saying they're going to get there but what I was surprised about is they almost admitted defeat."

AAP