England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
