The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
