England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous 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 great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
