The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations 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 the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope 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 played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
