England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "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 produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
