The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
