The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
