England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope 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 Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
