The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive 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," Crawley finished.
