England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes 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 how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
