The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
