England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked 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 head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
