The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis 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 notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
