England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
