England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he 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 Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
