England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 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. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
