England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"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 produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
