Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.

Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

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

Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.