The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
