The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic 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 a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
