England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
