Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".

Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.

"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

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

The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.

"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory

The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.

This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.

"It's 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 will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.

Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.

In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century 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 order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."

"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.