England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made a knock of 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 some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior 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 great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
