The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
