The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes 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 head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
