The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 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. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
