The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
