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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.

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

"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.

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

"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph

Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.

Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.

A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.

This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Pope's Place In Question

Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.

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

A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.

But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.