England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
