England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before 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.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
