England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
