The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
