England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing 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 so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for 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 hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures 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 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
