The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
