England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations 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 guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure 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 versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
