England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.