England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
