England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
