England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, 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 Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
