The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay 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 prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
