England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites 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 short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
