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

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with 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 destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

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

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 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.