The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
