The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
