The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "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 played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
