England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
