England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple 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 England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
