Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was 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.

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

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.