The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
