England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
