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

England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

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

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

"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.

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

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

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.

The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.

Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.

"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory

The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.

Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.

This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.

A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.

This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."

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

"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Position In Question

Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.

A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.

However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."

"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.