The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia 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, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
