Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.

A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.

The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

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

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

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.