England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
