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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.

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

However, after the opener 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 everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

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

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

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

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.

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

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.