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

England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.

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

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.

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

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

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.

Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

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

The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.