The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
