England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
