The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"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 hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
