The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
