England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination 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 tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
