The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
