The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 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 Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
