England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," 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 went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell 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 outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 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 returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
