England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
