England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
