England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes 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, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
