The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has 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 an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
