England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat 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 is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
