The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position 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 the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
