England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
