The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
