England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
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. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
