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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted 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," remarked the England leader.

However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, 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.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.

Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.

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

This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK 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 21st century.

"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

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

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

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

But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.