The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.