England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.