England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
