England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears 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 poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
