England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it 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 immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one 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 being scrutinised originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he finished.
