The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
