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

England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".

The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.

But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.

Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.

Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.

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

"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory

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

Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.

This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.

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

"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.

"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."

Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.

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

Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.

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

However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."

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

"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.