England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
