England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
