England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley 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 everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
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.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
