England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
