The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll 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 were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
