England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after 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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
