The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
