England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
