England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
