The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts 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 we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
