England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "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 in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, 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.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
