England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
