England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
