England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
