The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," 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'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
