The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "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 will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
