England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side 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 the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
