The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run 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 cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
