The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
