The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
