England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after 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 anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
