England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
