England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he 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 messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four 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 this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
