The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
