The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan 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.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley finished.
