England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking 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 the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
