England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven 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 the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
