The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided 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 will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
