The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK 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 modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
