The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" observation after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
