England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably tough touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
