The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome 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," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
