The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
