England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
