England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
