The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 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 poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
