The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after 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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman 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 insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
