England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
