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

The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.

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

However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.

Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner 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 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.

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

A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.

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

Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.

However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.