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 delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
