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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

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

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

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

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

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

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.