England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
