The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
