The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
