England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted 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 game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
