The English opening batter 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 following England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "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 the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances 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 significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
