The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
