England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 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 everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 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 never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
