England opening batter 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 made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
