England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
