England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following 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 with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to 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.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
