The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
