England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
