England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 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 anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears 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 modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
