The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment 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 the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, 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 innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 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 lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
