England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth 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 some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"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 some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
