The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
