The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
