England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
