The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
