England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon'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 notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
