The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" 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 messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
