England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted 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 certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks 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 day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
