The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 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. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
