England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
