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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

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

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

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

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be 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

While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.