England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played 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 "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
