Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

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

"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.