England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
