The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
