England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said 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 definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope 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 six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
