England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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 Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell 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 failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
