England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, 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 Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
