England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty 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 six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
