England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
