The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 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. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
