The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
