England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 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. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
