England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's 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 have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
