The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches 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 urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
