England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
