England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at 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 required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure 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. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate 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. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
