Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.

Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.

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

But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.

Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy

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

The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.

Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.

This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.

Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.

The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."

"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.

"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Place In Question

While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."

"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.