England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," 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 something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"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 formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
