England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
