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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.

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

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

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.

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

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.