England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
