England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
