Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

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

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.