England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out 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
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. 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 wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
