England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future 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 modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
