England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
