Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

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

But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.