The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
