England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
