The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
