England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
