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

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.

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

But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

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

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia 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.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is 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 they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.