The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term 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 the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, 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 Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
