England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed 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 England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
