The English opener Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out 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 the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers 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 in England's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
