The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion 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 he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
