The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks 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 coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
