England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
