The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
