Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.

"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.

But, after the opener made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.

Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven 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 facing elimination now."

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."

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