The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special 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 off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
