Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.