England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted 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 the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are 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 tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
