England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is 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 Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"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 amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
