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

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.

But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

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

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won 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 now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.