England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
