The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive 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.
