The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
