England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
