The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "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 definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
