The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
