England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain 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 Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle 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 victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
