The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 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 press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon'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 target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "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.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
