The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
