The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
