England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
