The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
