England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 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 issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner'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, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
