England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
