England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
