The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks 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 guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
