The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed 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 instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said 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'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. 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 Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
