The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"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 lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
