England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good 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
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
