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

England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

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

Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.

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

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.