The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"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 always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
