The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
