England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
