The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"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 produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
