The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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 Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
