England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it 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 immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
