England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
