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

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

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

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

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

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

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

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century 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 returned a poorer average.

However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – 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 played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.