The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
