England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
