England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
