England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 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 unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
