England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 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 poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
