England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
