England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews 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 the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks 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 messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably 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 Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
