England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
