The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
