England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
