England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said 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, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
