The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, 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 some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
