England opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man 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 played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
