The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message 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, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
