England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope 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 he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
