The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
