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

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.

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

However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press 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 the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.