The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed 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 staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future 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 innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
