England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
