England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
