England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed 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.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
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 boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"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. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.