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

The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.

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

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

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."

The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell 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 more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.

Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.

However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."

"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.