England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
