The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face defeat with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his team 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.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
