The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty 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 order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
