The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
