The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks 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 poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
