England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
