The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made 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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort 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 "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
