England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
