England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory 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 instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain 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," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
