The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
