England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
