England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England 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 the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests 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 urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
