The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "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 on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
