England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – 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 played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
