The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at 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 the England leader.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing 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.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
