The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
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.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
