England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate 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 Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win 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 tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
