England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 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 staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
