England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, 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 would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
