England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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 Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
