The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth 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 press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – 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 to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
