The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley 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 anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 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 recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"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 some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
