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

England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".

The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.

The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.

This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches 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 so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."

Pope's Place In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.

But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."

"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.