England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
