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

The English opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.

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

But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.

The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."

Australia Close of Historic Series Victory

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.

Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."

Pope's Place Under Scrutiny

While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.

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

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.

However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "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 if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.