England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "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 Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
