England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
