The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 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
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
