The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, 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 series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
