England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
