England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
