The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was 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," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
