England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
