England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK 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 modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
