The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place 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 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
