England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
