England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
