England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
