The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "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," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
