England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
