England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 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 his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
