The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
