England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room 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 Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll 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 and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
