England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before 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 remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away 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 rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
