England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days 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. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
