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

England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has 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. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.

Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

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

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.