The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
