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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate 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 everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.

Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.

Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.