England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
