England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
