The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
