England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
