The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several conversations 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 with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, 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," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
