England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
