The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, 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 on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
