England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
