The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among 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, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
