England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
