The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks 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 poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware 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. This is talk externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
