The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
