The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
