England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
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 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 staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
