The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
