England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 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 media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
