England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner'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.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
