England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
