The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
