The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
