The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"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 produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
