England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
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 featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.