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

The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"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," Crawley continued.

Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy

Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

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

Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.

Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.

"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Position In Question

While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.

Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.