England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
