The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century 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 six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
