The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.
