England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 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 lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
