The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win 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 like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
