England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching 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 subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
