The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
