The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday 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 "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
