England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware 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. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.