The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
