England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
