The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
