The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They were the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
