England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.