The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 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 anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
