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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".

Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.

But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.

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

Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

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

"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."

Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

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

This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.

The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

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

"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – 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 good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.