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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.

However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

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

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

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

Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK 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 occasions in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.

Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.