England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win 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 instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
