The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 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. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was 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 difficult. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
