England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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 Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
