The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days 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. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
