The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
