Opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not aware of comments made by Ben Stokes when the England captain said his dressing room is “not a place for weak men”.
Stokes made the statement in multiple interviews following England’s defeat in the second Ashes Test against Australia earlier this month.
In the run-up to the third Test, in which England are set to be beaten to lose the series at the earliest opportunity, Stokes said he had let his message “drift around” his players.
“I’ve done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done,” said the all-rounder.
But after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day of the third Test in Adelaide, he said: “I didn’t see that.
“I didn’t see and wasn’t really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt.”
Stokes made the “weak men” comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match in Adelaide, Stokes said his team had held “raw” conversations. The captain also asked his players to “show a bit of dog” in their battle to remain in the series.
But Kent’s Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
“It’s been very positive, the same as always,” said Crawley. “[It’s] just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game.”
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