England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "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 will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
