England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
