England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome 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 disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth 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 the old enemy.
In 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 since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
