England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
