England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
