The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate 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 a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable side. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
