The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate 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.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
