The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
